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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Interview with Lori L. Clark

Deirdra: What was
the pathway like for you to get your first book published?

Lori L. Clark:
Very hilly. You finish your manuscript and believe it's amazing. You put
together a query letter and get some feedback on that. Then you send the query
letter off to selected agents and wait for responses. Rejections hurt. Requests
for partials and/or fulls stoke your pride. I decided after several (hundreds)
rejections of BEAUTY'S BEHOLDER that I'd epublish it instead of going the
traditional route. My second book, BETWEEN THE MOON AND SHINE, is signed to be
published by a small local publishing house and my third book, TYLER FALLS, has
recently been published on KDP/Amazon.

Deirdra: Were you
ever discouraged along the way? If so, how did you deal with it?

Lori L. Clark: Oh
my goodness yes. It's downright depressing! No matter how down I got about
things, I kept on writing. That's the important thing. Don't ever give up.

Deirdra:
What is your writing schedule like?

Lori L. Clark: I
work outside the home at a full time job in addition to writing, so I squeeze
my writing time in when I can. Usually on the weekends. If I'm feeling really
inspired, I will write a chapter or so before heading off to work.

Deirdra: What do
you do to relax and unwind?

Lori L. Clark: I
read or I run. I jog for a hobby and ran my first marathon last fall. It's very
meditative for me.

Deirdra: Can
you tell us a little about your book, TYLER FALLS?

Lori L. Clark:
TYLER FALLS is an edgy YA contemporary told from alternating points of view.
The main character, Tyler, has suffered
from manic depression for as long as he can remember. Through medication and
therapy, he manages to keep his life together. But when his parents are
murdered, he decides he's had enough of living as a broken person with a broken
life. So, in thirty days, he plans to stick the barrel of his Ruger SP101 into
his mouth and pull the trigger.

Emma Perez's brother, Ethan Giovanni, sits in a mental institution for the
murder of Dr. and Mrs. Falls. Deemed mentally incompetent and unfit to stand
trial, Ethan has one weekly visitor -- Emma. She doesn't deny his guilt, he's
her brother and she loves him spite of the fact he's paranoid schizophrenic.

They say when you cross paths with someone more than once, it's fate -- you're
destined to meet. Tyler doesn't know Emma is Ethan's sister, and Emma doesn't
know Tyler's story either. When Tyler learns who Emma's brother is, the world
he's rebuilt around her begins to crumble all over again and it leaves both of
them wondering why fate has such a cruel sense of humor.

Deirdra:
What are you working on now?

Lori L. Clark: Another
YA contemporary with a working title of BREAKER. It's about an overweight
singer who struggles with her self-esteem and trying to get people to take her
music seriously instead of dismissing her because of her appearance.

Deirdra: Are
you planning on self-publishing, finding and agent, going with a small press or
other? And why?

Lori L. Clark: I
haven't decided yet. I will probably try to find an agent first and see what
type of response I receive that way.

Deirdra: Where
can readers go to find your books and order them?

Lori L. Clark: BEAUTY'S
BEHOLDER and TYLER FALLS are both available electronically through Amazon.com.
BETWEEN THE MOON AND SHINE is not out yet.

Here is a fun article by Katherine Morris and Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury:

“Is It Something in the Water?” Why Mormons Write Science Fiction and Fantasy.

“ … book publishers these days have a tendency to look at the proliferation of authors in Utah and wonder, “What the heck is in the water here?” They’re not the only ones who have taken notice. From book publishers to bloggers to scholars of Mormon culture, a number of people have noted the success of Mormon authors, particularly in the genre of science fiction and fantasy, and have speculated as to why Mormons seem to be unusually well-represented in this field.”